Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-10-16

IS6L TINT nSU O1Ce olCOiUSO abbliuoS III Tie
usually colorlesS cheeks, woe begone
pallor alone existed now.
"You csnnot speak for joy, suppose,
even though you have made second
selection" said this hooking friend, eye
ing him with intense nalevoIence.
Montressor's tongue certainly failed
him for & few seconds; his beWilderment
and dismay we're Observation-Disclosures sense
of sudden and dire calamity, shame and
destruction, eGVeioped him ike dense
dark cloud.
'Devil!" ct last lie gasped; chow did
J the sea-hoW did Death spare you when
that ship perished?"
''For very good reason. I didn't sail
in her."
"But your name was in the list of
! those
! "Who paid their passage money, and
were thus supposed TO have embarked,
which never intended TO do"
"And since them"
f'I nave been on 'the scoop in London,
living en- Tnyswits after your money was
spent; aud saw lately your marriage IN
| he papers. l knew then that you were
homs from India, and l traced you here,
and here I mean to remain. But you
don't seem Bit glad TO see me-your
/ own Irene, Of the happy days at Brighton,
| Ny arrival TO take my place and enforce
| nv Just rights VIII rather scare your new
madam, fesr; but she must now bundle
ABOUT her business. However, talking is
| dry work, aud this is some prime cry,
| I SUPPOSE" she added, and filling 8
champagne goblet to the brim from 8
| decanter, she drsined IL st drsught.
| Claire now came tripping lightly into
! the room, smiling and smoothing her
SUNNI hair with her white fairy fingers,
and then adjusting some flowers on her
| bosom, till some hing III the aspect Of the
! intruder, who stood face TO face with her,
and more than all, something in the
! horror struck expression Of Digby, ap-
palled the poor girl, and her smile died
away. She grew quite pale, ard glanced
inquiringly at her crushed and msddened
husband.
"Claire-CIaire :" he exclaimed with
outstretched hands, as the words seemed
to force themselves from him. "Oh, my
own Cne-hoW l love you!"
She drew back with a more startled ex-
preston ST this piteous ana unexpected
outburst.
"Digby, WHIST is it; why do you look at
me thus? You are i'll"
"No," he gasped, as he passed hand
across his eyes; "Ro-but full OF horror"
"FOr Whsl?"
"For you-oh, my God!"
"What does all this meau?" she ssked,
with sudden terror snd anguish.
SIT means that 1 am his flrst-married
and lawful wife, young womsn; that l
won't be paid to keep my marriage dark
/ hat hp~ 7 CHI
remain; and thsG you msy-nay must
clear cut at once!" said the intruder,
with strange knocking laugh, and q
glance of feIlest fury in her eyes, while
that she was partially inebriated was but
too spp8rent.
It was d terrible ecene.
Montressor led Claire, who was pas
sive in his hands, to their apartment
theirs no longer now. She glanced at
him muteIy, implOringly, with white and
palsied lips, that failed 10 utter the ques-
tons that tremoled OF her tongue, while
the crushed aspect and desdly pallor of
MOntressor more than appalled, her, as
they seemed to corroborste the accuse
ton brought against MN; and for some
minutes, TO judge oy CLalre's eyes, food
of anguish, shame, h0rrOr-or wSs it CON-
"My poor Claire" said DIgby; "my
poor darling, what an I TO saY-how eX-
plain away the dark secret of my life-the
Secret thAt now will be the ruin of
yours?"
Then, il hurried but broken accents,
he told her of his act Of =, u5hful folly at
Brighton; and of the money he had paid
TO rid himself of Irene BeaufOrt-it in-
~
ture and laundering ut the snip with all
on board; of his ignorance of the decep-
ton she mad prEc,iced upon him, afte- he
had sailed for India, believing himself
then, as when he returned free man
and nCw-nOw-sfter all-after ell!
Even bribery, with all his fortune,
would not mend matters now.
"Let US take time let US consider
what can be DONE" he said with q groan
"Ob, God in heaven, what can be
done?" walled Claire, SIS she lay 81 in
heap by her bedside "And what have
done-what sin committed, that Fate
so cruelty Furnishes me?" she added, in
bitterness of heart.
"My poor Clare, this bag shall not
S6me between u.s." said he wildly.
"Oh, papa, what revelation this will
be to you'll" said Claire, in q broken
voice, as her thoughts fed home to her
poor old lonely parent in his sequestered
rectory.
But she said nothing that was upbraid-
ing TO Montressor, for such from her
sweet lips would have broken bis already
tortured heart.
D:gby got the woman-his wife-to
leave the cottage and go, TO the village
inn; and how That most terrible night was
passed be never precisely knew.
He dared not so near Claire, for now
her dismay at the sight OF him, at the
touch of his hand, at his attempted Ca
resses to soothe, seemed to sting, TO mad
den her.
Within very short space Der face
seemed to be greatly altered; her lovely
eyes wore WistfuI and dumbly- psined
e preston, and her lips were pitiably
pale and quivering with pain and anxiety.
"ADd l thought he loved me sol"
walled the girl in her heart; but thought,
in the words of Milton, "that all WAS false
AND hollow"
How long she sat there Clsire never
knew; it might have been one hour or
ten hours; but sll her faculties, mental
End physical alike, became absorbed in
one great efort-fight-to get away from
Lynmouth and him.
She was slowly making up her mind to
achieve that, even though she felt fright
ened by the prospect, but to remain now
was impossible.
She had been tricked into the mar
riage-most daripgly tricked. To her